New Boy in town

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Hi to everybody!
I'm a 32 year old peruvian looking for a change in life (I'm a landscaper).
I just arrive in London and i'm looking for a institute /college to study some IT courses. I'm a totally beginner in IT , but I really like working with computers and learning about them.
So these are my dilemas:
- What will be the best course to start with, I was thinking : ECDL or CLAIT to start with, and then follow it with some Oracle and Microsoft SQL courses ( Databases were my first interests).
-Then I discovered networking, so ,a college recommended me A+ certificate follow by MCSE and then a CCNA (Bickenhall college in baker street, any comments about these college?).

Now can anyone give any advice about my dilemas, If I choose Databases what courses will you recommend a did you know any serious college,
and if I choose networking what courses will you recommend.
Any help?
Thanks for your time

 

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ECDL is really only for absolute beginners. Those who have difficulty telling a mouse from the keyboard.

I did it because it promised me a more structured approach to getting to grips with M$ Office rather than the piecemeal approach I had been using.

If you are comfortable with a PC and Windows, and can use Word, Excel, Powerpoint with fair ease then I think you can skip ECDL!

Harry.

 

what about starting with A+ certification ?
thanks for your time harry!

Martin

 

Hi there and welcome to CF, and yes A+ would be an ideal place to start

 

I agree. A+ goes 'under the hood', and is a very good start. One extra thing going for it is the fact that is it not 'tied' to Microsoft.

If being a database person is your main interest I'm not certain that CCNA would be right. If you want some more networking than is in A+ then I would recomend the CompTIA Network+. CCNA is *very* specific to Cisco networking kit.

Harry.

 

What about bickenhall college of computing ( www.bcoc.co.uk )
for A+ certification ?
I visited them and they looked very nice and profesional, but you never know!
Anybody heard of them , any comments or suggestions about colleges ?
Thanks guys !!!!
Martin

 

thats a lot of money for just the A+.

I went to college myself, obviously not the one you mentioned, and to be honest, it was more self study.

If i never had any labs at home set up, then YES college would of helped me alot however, as i got labs at home already but college was not a waste of time, but hmmm, was not as helpful as i thought it would be...

plus the tutoring was not of a high standard either... (imo)

You can useself set up labs, use MS Virtual PC which is free to download.

For self study books, see here...

Hope this helps?

 

Thanks for all you answers and advice!!!
Once I finished the A+ certification and want to follow Databases, what courses will you recommend ?
And what are the opportunities out there to practice in these areas while I'm learning ( I don't care about money)?

Thanks again guys for all your words of advice, I'm learning more about IT here in one day than anywhere else!!!!

Martin